Investigators said on Thursday they had taken a man into custody they believe may have been involved in Taliyah’s disappearance.

The Calgary Police Service said in a release they are searching a rural area east of Chestermere for evidence in the case.

The man, who taken into custody about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, is believed to have been driving a dark grey sedan involved in Taliyah’s disappearance, cops said. The car was seen driving close to where her mother's car was recovered.

Police released images of a car they believe was involved in Taliyah's abduction, which they said was seen near where her mother's car was recovered. (Calgary Police Service)

CCTV footage obtained by police showed the car around the time when Taliyah was last believed to have been seen.

The development in the case came after devastated family members still reeling from the loss of Baillie pleaded for Taliyah's safe return, tearfully begging whoever took the little girl to let her go home.

“Please return her. Drop her off at an RCMP station, Calgary Police Service station, or a grocery store, gas station, wherever you want,” Baillie’s uncle, Scott Hamilton, said as he choked back tears during a press conference Tuesday.

“Contact the family, we'll come and pick her up. There will be no questions asked. We love her, we miss her, and we want her back,” he said as family and friends standing next to him sobbed.

Hamilton’s wife, Marilynne Hamilton, spoke directly to Taliyah, reminding her how much her family cares about her.

Marsman, 36, who also goes by the surname Paris, was the subject of a conditions ordered peace bond, or a criminal court order, that listed Baillie as the complainant, CBC/Radio-Canada reported.

The peace bond was issued on March 2, after unlawful confinement and intimidation charges were dropped against Marsman. He was accused of preventing Baillie from using her cellphone to call police in connection with a February 1, 2015 incident, the Calgary Herald wrote.

“With all my heart, I love her sooo much; she is my light! Please allow her to come home to her family,” Marsman reportedly said in a statement released by his friend Gabriel Goree. “Those who know me best, know the person and kind of father I am, and know more than anything, I just want my baby girl back.”

Marsman has spoken to police and is cooperating with the investigation, Coleman said.

Taliyah is a mature 5-year-old, behaving more like a 7- or 8-year-old, and is tall for her age, friends said.

The girl was with a stocky black man about 11:30 a.m. Monday, near Panamount Boulevard N.W. — not far from where Baillie’s car was recovered, cops said. It was not immediately clear if the man taken into custody on Wednesday matched the description of the man witnesses believed they saw with Taliyah.

Anyone who believes they have seen Taliyah should call 911 immediately.

Police are also searching for a family who may have been the last to see Baillie alive and with her daughter. CCTV footage obtained by police showed Baillie and her daughter at a Dairy Queen about 5:30 p.m. Sunday talking with a group people who authorities are trying to identify.

Anyone with information about the homicide is asked to contact police by calling the non-emergency line at 403-266-1234 or the Homicide Unit Tip Line at 403-428-8877.